Eddie Collins | |||
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Collins with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1911
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Second baseman / Manager | |||
Born: Millerton, New York |
May 2, 1887|||
Died: March 25, 1951 Boston, Massachusetts |
(aged 63)|||
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MLB debut | |||
September 17, 1906, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
August 2, 1930, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .333 | ||
Hits | 3,314 | ||
Home runs | 47 | ||
Runs batted in | 1,300 | ||
Stolen bases | 745 | ||
Managerial record | 174–160 | ||
Winning % | .521 | ||
Teams | |||
As player As manager |
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Career highlights and awards | |||
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Member of the National | |||
Baseball Hall of Fame | |||
Inducted | 1939 | ||
Vote | 77.74% (fourth ballot) |
As player
As manager
Edward Trowbridge Collins, Sr. (May 2, 1887 – March 25, 1951), nicknamed "Cocky", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman, manager and executive. He played from 1906 to 1930 for the Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago White Sox. A graduate of Columbia University, Collins holds major league career records in several categories and is among the top few players in several other categories.
Collins coached and managed in the major leagues after retiring as a player. He also served as general manager of the Boston Red Sox. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. He died several years later after having suffered from heart problems for a number of years.
As a native of Millerton, a 384-acre village in Dutchess County, New York, Collins was unique in his time in that he was focused on both his athletic skills and his education and intelligence. He graduated from Columbia University (where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity), at a time when few major league players had attended college.
He started his American professional baseball career on September 17, 1906 when he signed with the Philadelphia Athletics at the age of 19. When he signed with the Philadelphia organization, Collins was still a student at Columbia. He played some of his initial minor league games under the last name of Sullivan so that he could protect his collegiate status.
After spending all but 14 games of the 1907 season in the minor leagues, he played in 102 games in 1908 and by 1909 was a full-time player. That season, he registered a .347 batting average and 67 steals. He would also be named the A's starting second baseman in 1909, a position he would play for the rest of his career, after seeing time at second, third, short, and the outfield the previous two seasons. In 1910, Collins stole a career-high 81 bases and played on the first of his six World Series championship teams.